


Eggs in the Nest

by Unusual_Raccoon



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, Lauriver are married, Lian is Thea and Roy's daughter, Quentin is grandpa, Sara and JJ are twins, Self-Indulgent, The Lance-Queen family, The West-Allen's will be late, because I can't do math..., family gathering, it's tradition, none of that OTA bullshit, selective members of team arrow and flash as found family, that will be explained
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unusual_Raccoon/pseuds/Unusual_Raccoon
Summary: Just a wholesome family gathering amongst the Lance-Queen family.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Earth-2 Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, John Diggle/Lyla Michaels, Roy Harper/Thea Queen
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	Eggs in the Nest

**Author's Note:**

> I'm well aware my fluff work does not pull in the same numbers as my smut works, and probably isn't a favorite from my readers - I couldn't help but write this anyway.

If Laurel had to describe how she was feeling she supposed the word she would use was content, not quite the same rush of excitement that followed chasing after criminals alongside her husband, rather the feeling she found herself experiencing was warmer and more mature perhaps. It was the kind of emotion that accompanied her new, significantly more calm, yet equally challenging retired life. This new life had been an adjustment sure, but one that she was sure she would never regret.

It was Saturday and the house smelled warmly of homemade waffles. Even today of all days when company would be arriving and Oliver would be cooking enough to feed an army, he still stubbornly stuck to his weekend tradition - waffles for the boy.

She joined the boys down in the kitchen for breakfast, greeting her husband with a drowsy kiss to the cheek as she happily accepted her morning coffee. Taking her seat beside her son at the kitchen island where he happily dug into his waffles that his father had cut into miniscule pieces, Laurel grinned at the little game footsie initiated by the boy. The soft soles of his bare tiny feet battled with hers, earning a small dimpled grin that was nearly identical to hers.

Connor was practically bouncing in his seat at the prospect of seeing all of his ‘cousins’, it was a term used loosely to label any and all children within their immediate group of family friends, regardless of blood relation. Having been tossed around several foster homes in her youth after her father’s passing, it brought Laurel a great amount of happiness knowing that her Little Bird had plenty of family to look out for him. A family that she no doubt never would’ve found if not for Oliver.

Laurel exhaled a happy hum, practically melting into her seat as Oliver pressed a kiss to her hairline, the faint scratch of his scruff making her itch in the most pleasant way. His large familiar hands sliding a plate of waffles, fresh out of the press and drizzled with a generous amount of syrup before her.

After an indulgent homemade breakfast and a much needed boost of caffeine she and Oliver spent the rest of the morning tidying up the house. With no help from their Little Bird in their effort, with every toy they put away, two more somehow appeared in its place. Apparently Connor wanted to have all of his toys out to show his cousins when they came over, which Laurel surmised was an adorable but slightly frustrating sentiment. Finally giving in and allowing Connor to pick out a select few of his toys to keep in the living room, Laurel busied herself in the kitchen. Even with the time retirement from her life of crime fighting offered, Laurel could admit that she had yet to master the art of cooking in the way her husband had. Until she got the hang of it, she was in charge of snacks, opening a few bags of chips and cutting up some fruit for the adults and children alike wasn’t too difficult a job.

Oliver was cleaning out the fancy charcoal smoker he had gotten for his birthday when the Diggles arrived, fashionably early with a punctuality expected out of two military veterans; and bearing a little veggie platter for the adults to snack on. Connor had been the first to greet his Uncle John and Aunt Lyla, beaming under the praise of how big he’d grown while babbling excitedly as he dragged JJ and Sara to the backyard to play. Laurel wasn’t quite sure how much fun the older two would have, given that Connor was a few years younger than the twins. Still they seemed quite content to humor their Little Bird. Laurel watched from the corner of her eye as sweet little Sara Diggle rocked on the swingset in the yard with Connor, as JJ eventually gravitated over to the adults.

Lyla and John had taken seats, under the shade provided by the gazebo in the backyard, far more relaxed as they happily accepted the bottles of sparkling water that Laurel offered. Apparently John had taken up working private security in his retirement from vigilantism, proving himself to be the workaholic Laurel had pegged him to be.

“So, how’s the new job treating you, John?” Oliver asked conversationally as he waited for the charcoal smoker to warm up. There was a lack of tension in his body as he leaned languidly against the side of the gazebo, her husband was entirely at ease and Laurel loved that this new life they had built together gave that to him.

“It’s fine.” John said simply, shrugging his massive shoulders as Lyla leaned into his side, her legs crossed beneath the skirt of her sundress.

“A little boring, but boring is good nowadays.” He elaborated, his gaze drifting briefly to watch where JJ was making silly faces at Connor and Sara was swaying up in the air on the swing. Laurel could certainly sympathize with the familiar warmth that softened his usually stern features, parenthood had changed him.

“Yeah, it is.” Oliver agreed with a small smile, all gazes turning at the sound of Connor’s vibrant laughter as the boy sailed up into the air, legs kicking and hands clutching the chains of the swingset.

Laurel smiled at the pair, pulling out a small cooler filled with soda cans and juice boxes for the kids.

Oliver had placed some burgers and hot dogs in the smoker once it was all heated up, knowing far well that the kids would be hungry soon. Every now and again Laurel would sneak over to her husband, offering a hunk of fruit between her fingers or a nice cool bottle of water or even a kiss if none of the kids were looking.

After a quick bathroom break inside, Laurel was pleased to find that another of their guests had arrived, watching as Thea, Roy and their little girl pulled into the driveway. Her sister-in-law was quick to greet her with a hug, one which Laurel readily returned. Similarly to herself and Oliver, Laurel was finding that Thea was well suited to a normal life, happily relishing in the opportunities it provided. That by no means meant it had been an easy transition or without challenges. Unfortunately a few years prior, they had all discovered that the lazarus pit took more from the youngest Queen sibling than any of them initially realized. Despite her inability to conceive, Thea had been determined to mother her own child, and with the help of a wonderful surrogate and a dash of DNA from Roy, they had happily welcomed a new addition to the family.

Laurel gave her niece a grin where her adorable little heart shaped face poked out from behind Roy. There were recognizably many features she shared with her father, the shape of her brows and hair color, a good few features Laurel determined to belong to her biological mother, a cute pointed little chin and the most beautiful almond shaped eyes, yet in mannerisms Lian was decidedly all Thea.

“Hey Lian,” Laurel greeted, crouching down to eye-level with her niece, “Connor’s in the backyard.” The former vigilante imparted, watching as the usually prim exterior the little girl exuded was replaced with that universal giddiness that all children became swept up in. Her auburn pigtails swung as she bolted for the back door in excitement.

“Sweetheart, not so fast.” Thea called out nervously as Laurel led the couple into the backyard to join the rest of the group.

“Uncle Ollie!” The little girl exclaimed before latching onto her uncle in a crushing hug, Laurel grinned as Oliver swept their niece into his arms, swinging her around as she squealed in delight.

“My Lian, look at you.” Oliver marveled as he placed Lian back down on her feet, his large hand fitting atop her head as she beamed up at him.

“You hungry?” He asked, watching as her mouth scrunched up adorably while she pondered her answer.

“A little.” She declared, those big green eyes settled on Oliver.

“A little?” Oliver echoed with a smile, giving his niece a playful wink, “Well, then I’ll make something special just for you.” She seemed to approve, Laurel thought, as she gave her uncle an affirmative nod before running off towards the other children.

Laurel’s smile went wide as Lian immediately ran towards her cousin, practically wailing her arrival to gain Connor’s attention. Their Little Bird leapt from the swingset, thankfully no longer swinging at the time when he landed in the grass, before sprinting on his bare feet to greet Lian. Only being a few months apart in age, Connor and Lian were undeniably thick as thieves. The two began racing up and down the yard, giggling as they went.

Thea was next to greet Oliver, embracing her brother in a similar fashion to the way her daughter had, though Oliver seemed to just barely contain the urge to swing Thea around in the same way - their hug was just as fierce. Roy was the last, embracing Oliver in a far shorter hug, but a hug nonetheless. Soon the adults settled down in the gazebo once more, chatting amongst each other creating a gentle, comforting buzz of conversation.

Sipping on her sparkling water Laurel and Oliver shared a laugh as Connor managed to rope the children into a game of hide and go seek. Their labored breaths and laughter ringing out throughout the yard as they played. Laurel was just happy that he had someone else to play the game with aside from herself and Oliver.

The fun was put on hold in favor of food when Oliver served up the burgers and hot dogs. All the children seemed to be bouncing with the desire to run around and keep playing, yet with the supervision of parents managed to finish a reasonable amount of their food before running off once more.

The kids were entertaining themselves, JJ helping Lian jump rope while Sara seemed to enjoy blowing bubbles for Connor to frantically chase in an attempt to pop.

The sun was lowering and the sky was turning a gorgeous dusky orange color when Quentin arrived, bearing a store bought tiramisu for the adults and a little package of sugar cookies for the kids.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Her father greeted, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “Sorry ‘bout showing up late, traffic was a nightmare.” Laurel gave a good natured roll of her eyes while she put away the tiramisu in the fridge for later.

“It’s fine.” She assured, giving him a small pat on the back as she guided him out to the yard. In her years on this Earth, and since the birth of her son, she and Quentin had grown closer. It was nice to have a dad again.

“A’right where are my grandbabies?” Her father bellowed dramatically, his face breaking into a smile as both Lian and Connor gave a loud call of ‘grandpa’ before running in his direction. Thea had confided in Laurel and Quentin her preference for the idea of Quentin filling the role of grandpa for little Lian, as he had quickly become a father figure in her own life. He had accepted his new grandchild with joy. He gave a wince as both children flung themselves at him in a hug.

“Easy, easy, you’re gettin’ too strong for this old man.” Her father exclaimed, happily returning the hug they initiated.

Laurel joined Oliver and the rest of the adults in the gazebo, while Quentin was content to spoil all the children with his affection. Cuddling into her husband’s side, a contented sigh left her lips as she soaked up the warm familial atmosphere and savored the sound of gentle lilting laughter. Quentin was soon to join the mix of adults, settling down with a sigh and a bottle of sparkling water like the rest.

The adults happily dug into some more food that came fresh out of the smoker, there was a mess of plates filled with scraps of food piling up. Oliver was quick to set out a designated garbage bag which started filling up rather quickly.

Every now and again JJ and Sara would reappear to abscond with a handful of potato chips or a sugar cookie to munch on as they continued to play with the two little ones. Lian would return to Thea’s side to gift her mother with a pebble from the garden, a few of which revealed themselves to be rollie pollies, much to Thea’s distaste. Laurel grinned when their Little Bird would pop up, settling down between herself and Oliver long enough to finish sipping on his juice box.

A hint of a darker color was beginning to blend with the dusky orange of the sky when the last of their guests thankfully arrived, very appropriately late, Laurel thought with a smirk. The West-Allen’s arrived bearing many apologies, apparently there were complications at the train station. Barry of course took the unavoidable teasing with a wide smile.

Barry was quick to greet Oliver, one of the few people that wasn’t immediate family that Oliver didn’t bristle at hugging. Laurel and Iris exchanged quick ‘hellos’ as her little one Nora ran off at a remarkably average speed to join the rest of the children. Nora was a welcome addition to the group, happily joining in on a game of freeze tag while her parents settled in to join the adults.

Oliver was sure to prepare miniature mountains of food on a plate for both Barry and Nora, knowing quite well that the little girl had inherited her father’s appetite.

Laurel brought out the tiramisu while Oliver joined the children to toast some marshmallows to make s’mores over the small fire pit in the backyard. The particularly little ones were a mess of melted chocolate, gooey sticky marshmallow, and the sandy remains of graham crackers; even still, Sara and JJ were quite messy themselves, bearing chocolatey grins as well.

Some of the adults were eager to gather around the fire, both to keep an eye on the little ones and to soak up the warm. Laurel watched with fondness as Connor settled in Oliver’s lap, happily munching away on a s’more with sticky fingers. Lian had wrangled her father into joining her as well, while the entirety of the Diggle clan were happy to take a seat by the fire.

After dessert was finished and a small mound of wet wipes were used to clean sticky hands and faces, the children were up and off once more.

The day had since faded well into night while the children continued playing, Connor inciting a little frenzy as he, Lian, and Nora chased after flickering fireflies. Laurel smiled as her Little Bird squealed in excitement when a glowing insect would land on his little palm. The retired vigilante let out a chuckle as she watched them scramble around, jumping to catch the fireflies, grinning under the flicker of their yellowish green glow.

Laurel hummed delighted at the feeling of her husband’s arms winding around her, the familiar warmth of his breath against the neck as he hugged her to his chest. There was nothing quite like getting all of their family together, their mix-matched group all crammed into the yard - like eggs in a nest.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this don't be afraid to leave a comment, I do love to hear what my readers have to say.


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